


Ukyou's Different Life

by Typingkitten



Category: Ranma 1/2
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Christmas Presents, F/M, Feel-good, Fluff, One Shot, Ranma 1/2 Secret Santa Exchange 2018, Relationship Discussions, Short & Sweet, Snow, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-14
Updated: 2018-12-14
Packaged: 2019-09-17 20:30:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16981290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Typingkitten/pseuds/Typingkitten
Summary: This is for the Ranma 1/2 Secret Santa Exchange! I admit, I never ever thought of shipping these two... so I was stumped for a while as I wrote it, but soldiered on haha.I only hope Bunnymajo is happy with it. Merry Christmas!----------          -----------          -----------Ukyou comes to sudden realisations and feels uneasy about them, but, so does Shampoo.





	Ukyou's Different Life

**Author's Note:**

  * For [BunnyMajo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BunnyMajo/gifts).



Why does the sun shine so brightly, when it knows there are clouds around that will obscure itself from the world? The thing that gives us hope and joy. These are the things Ukyou ponders to herself as she walks by the riverside, listening to the water, she knows there is deeper meaning to this, because things have gotten confusing lately.

For one, she hasn't been spending any time with Ranma, a silent wave of reality washed over her one day. She'll never get him. 

She stopped in her tracks, looks to the sky and sighs loudly in frustration, if there is one thing that makes her feel better, it's food. Lots of food. She can't be bothered to cook, and she has some extra cash from the Okinomiyaki shop. That's it, Chinese food.

\---------------------------------------

Shampoo sighs loudly while dicing spring onions.

"Stupid Ranma. Stupid Akane. What wrong with Shampoo... Shampoo make food that no kill you... strong amazon too..." She speeds up her chopping the more irritated she gets.

"Shampoo! That's enough onion!" Cologne hits Shampoo on the head with her staff to snap her out of her thoughts. She winces from the contact and looks at the small mountain of chopped spring onions. "Honestly, Shampoo, what's wrong with you?"

"I just tired..." She rubs her head. Cologne looks at her great-granddaughter for a moment. 

"Go wait tables, Shampoo, I'll cook today. My bones are creaking" She watches her leave.

"Okay, great-grandmother" Shampoo leaves with a sigh, Cologne contemplates what could be the matter. 

"Wait for me, Shampoo! Don't be sa-Ack!" Moose bursts out of a massive pot, probably put there by Shampoo. Cologne puts him back, then places a crate of melon on top. 

\-------------------------------

The familiar jingle alerts Shampoo, she turns to greet her new customer. 

"Ni Hao welcome new cus-oh, it you" Shampoo folds her arms looking at Ukyou. Ukyou holds her hands up.

"Not looking for a fight here... I just want some grub and fancied Chinese" She puts her hands down.

"Then why you come here? There many many place to eat Chinese" Shampoo fiddles with a strand of hair, looking suspiciously at Ukyou. 

Ukyou blinks and thinks for a moment, why exactly did she go there? Her feet took her there, she wasn't thinking. Thinking about it, she did pass a few Chinese restaurants on the way to this one, why didn't she stop there? She does suppose it is known the best spicy crispy beef in Furinkan is here... and the Cantonese chicken. Her stomach rumbles loudly causing Shampoo to giggle, that in turn makes her blush. Wait, that makes her blush?

"Go sit, I bring menu" As Shampoo turns Ukyou clears her throat.

"I know what I want. Spicy crispy beef, Cantonese chicken, fried rice, vegetable chow mein and sweet and sour soup" She sits. Shampoo looks surprised.

"That a lot" She writes down the order and sends it to the kitchen.

"Yeah, well... I'm eating my feelings today" Ukyou sighs and taps the table with her finger. Shampoo tilts her head.

"What wrong?" 

"Just realisations and coming to accept them. What's the point in chasing something you can't catch?" Ukyou leans on her hands. Shampoo smirks, catching on what she means.

"Oohhh... less competition for Shampoo" She flicks her hair in some sort of triumph. 

"You'll see one day too, Shampoo" Ukyou looks away. Shampoo shrugs and goes to the kitchen, Ukyou watches her. Was Shampoo always cute? She blinks and looks away, why was she thinking that? She sips her water and sighs.

When her food came she just looked at it, suddenly not hungry. She took little bites of what was there.

"What wrong? You have big big hunger when you come" Shampoo looks at the food to see if there's a problem. 

"Yeah, ehm... I guess I'm just tired. Can I take it it to go?" Ukyou fiddles with her chopsticks. Shampoo shrugs and takes the food away. 

Cologne looks at the food.

"What's the matter? Is it not good?" Shampoo gets the containers.

"Not hungry. She take home" As Shampoo deals with the food Cologne takes a look out of the kitchen, Ukyou has a thoughtful look on her face. "Hmm"

Shampoo brings the bags of food out to Ukyou, she holds them out for her, Ukyou takes them brushing hands with Shampoo.

"Money's on the table... thanks" Before Shampoo could say anything she was out the door. Shampoo shakes her head.

"Strange strange girl"

Ukyou sighs and looks around.

"Oh. It's snowing..." As she makes her way home she thinks deeply about her life and chase of Ranma. It's going to be hard to let go, but she doesn't want a fruitless life. What she really wants to know, what on earth was with her and Shampoo back there? She's always secretly admired Shampoo... one thing she loved about Ranma was his strength, which Shampoo certainly has. It will make zero sense to suddenly start liking Shampoo right away after declaring herself not his fiancée anymore... none at all.

Before she knew it, she was home, and who was walking up for free food? Ranma himself.

"Heey, Ukyou! You open? Man, I'm starving!" He rubs his belly. She doesn't look at him while unlocking the door.

"Closed" She goes inside and slides the door shut in his perplexed face.

\---------------------------------

After a few days, on the day of winter holidays starts from school, Ukyou approaches Akane.

"Uh, hey there" She smiles, Akane looks up from her desk.

"Oh, hello... what is it?" Akane seems apprehensive for obvious reasons. Ukyou takes an envelope out of her bag.

"Don't worry Akane, no tricks. This is for Ranma and Soan, I'd like you to give it to them. I'm officially declaring myself no longer a Fiancée of Saotome Ranma... I just... Yeah. I'm not stupid. I just apologise" She bows. Akane can't quite believe what she just heard.

"U-uh... thank you, Ukyou... I don't know what to say" She smiles at her. Ukyou hands her another envelope.

"This is also for Ranma, it's a bill for all the food he's had from me" Akane laughs as Ukyou walks away. 

She wasn't sure what she'd feel when handing over the official document... she feels relief and starts to laugh, causing her to get stares. 

\------------------------------------

She can't keep this up. She can't afford to keep going to eat at the Chinese restaurant like she has been doing everyday for the past five days. She feels somewhat a sense of calm with Shampoo... along with a massive increase in heartrate. Ukyou sits up from her head on the table with an idea.

"I'll make Shampoo an Okinomiyaki..."

Is what she said when she tried and failed when they were never good enough, in her eyes. This sudden infatuation with this girl made no sense she would say over and over. She grips her head in frustration and grumbles, it's Christmas Eve in two days... she starts to stress eat the Okinomiyaki she just made. She stops mid chew. 

"Mmmm! Mm Mmm!" She runs to the wardrobe fumbling around, finally finding a crochet needle and wool. "I'll crochet a little cat!... is that stupid?"

\------------------------------------

Shampoo sighs, watching the snow fall gently outside. She slowly taps an index finger on the windowsill in thought.

"Shampoo, child, what's the matter with you? You haven't been yourself since yesterday" Cologne looks up at her. Shampoo sighs again loudly and stretches.

"Ukyou no come for two day. Shampoo wonder if Ukyou okay. Maybe sick from too too cold" She looks back out of the window. Cologne smiles and looks at her staff.

"Maybe you would like to take some soup just incase?" Cologne hops on her staff to the kitchen. Shampoo turns suddenly.

"Really? You let Shampoo? Thank you!" 

Shampoo takes the bag with the flask of hot soup and runs off. Cologne smiles knowingly and sits.

"Oh, Shampoo, you'll soon learn, my dear" She drinks some sake.

\---------------------------

Shampoo knocks on Ukyou's door, she looks around and sighs. She wonders why she's so concerned about this girl, the things she said about Ranma and Akane have been playing in her mind. Normally nothing sways her against Ranma, but Ukyou giving up would have fuelled her on, one less contender in the race. 

"Stupid stupid..." Shampoo mumbles to herself watching her breath in the fresh snowy day air. Where is Ukyou? "Ukyou! It Shampoo! You home?" After no response Shampoo had a gut feeling she was in fact home. 

It's Christmas Eve, Shampoo didn't want Ukyou to be alone, especially if she's sick. She stopped thinking for a moment and thought about the past couple weeks, their conversations together and time spent. Shampoo in fact didn't think about Ranma, she was just having fun, maybe she felt glad for a different reason Ukyou stopped her pursuit of Ranma?

"Aiyaa! It stupid stupid!" Shampoo kicked her frustration at a small pile of snow.

"Shamboo?" A voice called from above. Shampoo blinked and looked up to see a sorry figure. Ukyou wrapped in a blanket, nose red as a berry and cooling strip on her forehead. "Wad are you doin' here?" She sniffs and wipes her nose.

"Aiyaa, you sick. Let Shampoo in, Shampoo have yummy healing soup" She holds up the bag. Ukyou laughs a bit then coughs.

"Oh, Shamboo, you didn' hab to. Uh, I'll try geb down stairs" Ukyou goes back inside, before she can close the window, Shampoo jumps up to the window and takes her shoes off before sliding inside and closing it firmly shut.

"There. You sit, Shampoo get you soup" She ushers Ukyou to sit at the table. She gets the still piping hot soup into the bowl for her and drapes a blanket around her shoulders. "Eat all. Great-grandmother special recipe" She sits opposite.

"Idadagibasu..." Shampoo giggles at her flu-filled words. "Shamboo... eben dou I can't taste much... I can dis" Ukyou lowers her face into the bowl savoring the meal. Shampoo goes to fold the bag she was given and notices there is more inside; herbal medicine, two slices of cake and the gift Shampoo made for Ukyou. She blushes a little, Shampoo pauses, why is she blushing? She distracts herself and gets some water for the medicine.

"Aahh... dat soup... I can feel it clearing my chest and airways... if it wasn't a secret recipe I'd ask for it" Ukyou watches Shampoo mix the ground herbs into the glass of water... making what could only be described as swamp water.

"Drink drink all one go. It taste very bad... but good for body" Shampoo slowly slides it over, Ukyou stares at it in disdain. With a deep breath she grabs the glass and downs the whole thing.

"Blegh! Ugh! Agh!" Her face and body contort in disgust. Shampoo laughs puts the two slices of cake on the table. Ukyou stares at Shampoo. "Shampoo..."

"Oh, come on... it not that bad. This take taste away" She smiles at Ukyou.

"I don't know what to say, Shampoo... this all really means a lot. I thought you'd be at Ranma's..." She looks away. Shampoo unwraps her cake.

"Maybe Shampoo think... Shampoo want more than chase stupid boy" She doesn't look up from her cake. Ancestors help and forgive her... she knows she has a duty, but, isn't there a first time for everything?

Ukyou realises she is staring and is gaping. She shuts her mouth, she reaches to the side for the gift.

"Uhm, I have a Christmas present for you... I made it myself. I didn't have time to wrap it though" Ukyou shyly holds on to it, Shampoo eagerly holds her hands out, when she gets it she looks down at it. She blinks and starts to laugh. "Do... you not like it?"

"Aiya, Shampoo love it. It Shampoo, yes?" She looks at the crocheted purple cat, or what is supposed to be a cat, a kind of mangled cat with wonky eyes. Never the less, She loves it and hugs it. Ukyou blushes and eats some cake and nods once. "Oh! Shampoo also have gift for Ukyou" Shampoo takes outs the wrapped gift handing it over. She unwraps it and stares in awe.

"Shampoo... this... is amazing. Is this my name in Chinese?" In a frame is a piece of parchment paper, on it is some beautiful calligraphy in black ink, with a hand drawn intricate border all around the edge, in two corners are detailed inked flowers. A tear rolls down her cheek but she quickly brushes it away. "Never have I gotten something so beautiful"

Shampoo smiles and shyly looks down at her cake, she blinks when Ukyou reaches over and places her hand over her own. They both look at each other for a long moment.

"You're a beautiful person, Shampoo... thank you for this" Ukyou places her thumb over the top of Shampoo's hand, in her head she's thinking what on earth is she doing? Is she trying to scare Shampoo away? Because this is how it's going to happen. But, those eyes and her being here, she just can't help it. It surprises her even more when Shampoo squeezes her hand back.

"So you" They smile at each other for a long moment, finishing their cake in silence, holding hands.

Afterwards, they put the tv on to watch together, after a few moments leaning on each other, both heartbeats thudding in unison hard against their chests. Ukyou links her little finger with Shampoo's, and they both smile, watching the fire works from their position out of the window.

\-----------------------------------

"What do you mean you're officially resigning as my fiancée?" Ranma blinks, standing outside of the Tendon residence with Akane. Shampoo gives the letter to her.

"Shampoo no want boy, Shampoo find someone who have big big honour status in Amazon community" She waves him off and bows to Akane before walking off.

"But what about the whole needing to marry me to..." He stops to see Akane glaring at him and storming inside. "Ahh c'mon, Akane! I was only wondering why!"


End file.
